Allentown, Pennsylvania, Has Losing Team In Its First Season Of Minor League Baseball

The long awaited debut of Minor League Baseball has come and gone and the people of Allentown, Pennsylvania, are very happy that they have a team.

For that reason alone, they can forgive the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs with an awful start to their 2008 season.

Nobody predicted an International League pennant for the Iron Pigs, yet a 3-24 record for the month of April was hard to fathom.

Lehigh Valley started the season with a 0-11 record before finally recording their first ever win on April 14 with a 3-1 victory over the Richmond Braves at Coca-Cola Park. The Iron Pigs put together a two-game winning streak the next night by beating the Toledo Mud Hens 4-1 at home.

The Iron Pigs then lost 13 of the next 14 to finish the month. They are currently in last place in the North Division, 15 games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

The Lehigh Valley team is beyond bad. They outright stink and there are no signs that things are going to get any better.

Ottawa Lynx were bad last season

If Lehigh Valley fans are wondering why things are bad, then all they have to do is look at the team’s performance last year.

In 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A franchise was located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Lynx finished in last place in the IL North and were last in league in pitching, hitting and attendance.

The team’s co-owners, Craig Stein and Joseph Finley, purchased the team in 2006 and moved the team from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to Ottawa for one season until a new stadium could be built in Allentown.

Because they are new and playing in a brand new beautiful stadium, the team is in a honeymoon period. But how long will that last?

Phillies top prospects not with team

The reason the team is not performing is because most of the Philadelphia Phillies minor league prospects are on the lower levels of their farm system.

The sole purpose of Minor League Baseball is to develop players for the big leagues. Not enough of Philadelphia’s prospects are ready to play at the Class AAA level.

Fans have to look west the Double-A Reading Phillies with that team's record around the .500 mark and contending in the Eastern League.

The Phillies occasionally have to dip into the Iron Pigs roster and have already called up outfielders Chris Snelling and TJ Bohn. The team also released outfielder Valentino Pascucci as a result of the team’s start.

Phillies outfielder Shane Victorino recently made a rehab appearance with the Iron Pigs before he was activated from the disabled list.

Coca-Cola Park a good sell

The Iron Pigs should draw well because Coca-Cola Park is worth seeing. It is located of Route 22 on Airport Road South. The Stadium is a few blocks down and off to the right with the signs making it hard to miss.

There is plenty of parking at a cost of $3 and the park has all the amenities new stadiums have to offer, including luxury boxes, wide concourses, specialty food stands, a picnic area, a lawn area in the outfield, a bar in right field, and standing room railings all around.

Every seat is a good seat and fans sitting on the first base side can see planes taking off and landing at ABE Airport.

The teams will draw well in 2008 but will have to put a winning team on the field if they want to keep the fans coming out.